Izumi had single-handedly carried both the criminal and victim's bodies back. Along the way, she was subjected to many strange looks, making her too embarrassed to raise her head.
Fortunately, no one misunderstood her, likely because her Uchiha clan attire prevented trouble.
Finally, after mustering courage to return to the Military Police Force headquarters and seeing Ikeizumi again, Izumi's tightly wound nerves eased somewhat.
But...
She soon noticed many seniors in the Military Police Force focusing their various gazes on her.
Being stared at like a rare animal was a feeling she had experienced once before.
It made her nervous again.
"Leave the bodies here; someone will handle them. Now, come with me to see the clan head," Ikeizumi's cold voice reached her, strangely comforting and giving her a sense of security.
Her inexplicable tension dissipated.
She felt as if she had a reliable backbone.
"Yes, Senior!!!"
Izumi responded quickly.
As Ikeizumi entered the Military Police building without looking back, he asked the black-haired girl behind him, "As a member of the Uchiha Military Police Force, if you encounter an ordinary criminal resisting arrest during enforcement, what should you do?"
Is this...
A theoretical test from Senior Ikeizumi?
Izumi gained some confidence.
To join the Military Police Force, she had spent a full month memorizing the code of conduct, missing not a single word.
She had qualified to participate in the recruitment assessment by passing the theoretical exam.
Moreover...
She had passed with full marks!
She clearly recalled the manual stating that when an ordinary person resists arrest, appropriate control measures should be applied depending on the level of resistance.
In simple terms, mild resistance should be met with gentle control; excessive resistance may warrant some degree of force, but at most to cause the suspect to fall.
After all, the suspect is an ordinary person, not a dangerous ninja.
"First, try to control them gently..." Izumi quickly gave a standard answer.
But halfway through, she froze.
She recalled how Senior Ikeizumi had dealt with the short man trying to escape today, which seemed completely inconsistent with the code of conduct.
She swallowed her words and weakly amended, "Maybe, a bit more forceful methods?"
Coincidentally, Ikeizumi paused because they had arrived at Fugaku Uchiha's office inside the Military Police building.
Ikeizumi said calmly, "New recruit, I hope your answer is sincere and not flattery. Remember, [Absolute Justice] stems from absolute enforcement strength. Enforcement intensity varies with the times."
"Now... is the moment when the ninja world is most severely eroded by 'evil.' In times of chaos, severe measures are necessary. Even if we encounter only minor 'evil,' we must strike hard and show no leniency."
Correct...
She got the answer right.
Although this answer was not the standard one found in the code of conduct manual, Izumi felt Ikeizumi's ideas were extreme. She believed the era of chaos in the ninja world had long passed. The Third Great Ninja War had ended years ago, as had the Nine-Tails' attack.
While there were still minor conflicts in the current ninja world, it hardly constituted an era of chaos.
At least...
From the perspective of the Uchiha clan, were they not thriving? Were their lives not improving?
Senior Ikeizumi was perhaps too pessimistic!
Of course, she only dared to ponder these thoughts internally. Izumi would never vocalize them.
Knock!
Knock!
Knock!
The sound of knocking interrupted Izumi's thoughts. When Fugaku's steady, strong voice invited them in, Uchiha Ikeizumi, accompanied by the slightly nervous girl, opened the door.
"Ikeizumi? And... Uchiha Izumi?" Fugaku paused momentarily.
"You tell him," Uchiha Ikeizumi said casually, then found a chair and sat down. He crossed his legs, idly rubbing the chair's armrest, which was almost polished smooth from use.
"Ah?"
When Fugaku's gaze fell upon Izumi, she realized Ikeizumi was addressing her.
And Clan Head Fugaku seemed accustomed to Ikeizumi's rather impolite behavior. After all, Ikeizumi had not even greeted him!
Did they have some conflict?
A strange thought flashed through her mind, and Izumi hastily began, "Lord Fugaku, today I, along with Senior Ikeizumi..."
Thus, Izumi recounted the day's events in full detail.
Fugaku's brows furrowed, displaying an expression almost identical to the Third Hokage's.
"Ikeizumi, your methods are too extreme," Fugaku sighed, his expression hardening. "This is precisely why the village views us Uchiha with suspicion. I know you are upholding justice, and I know you have your own views on it. But sometimes, justice requires discretion and adaptation."
"You must be aware... the village has become increasingly alienated from the Uchiha, haven't they? Our clan was even forced to relocate to the village's outskirts; we have no more room to retreat. We must take measures to salvage our reputation."
"But, you, behaving like this..."
Fugaku felt a headache coming on as he looked at Uchiha Ikeizumi, this young Uchiha Jonin.
He considered Ikeizumi exceptionally talented, having awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan early, and possessing the unique "Melt Release," making him the Uchiha clan's only ninja with two bloodline limits.
Perhaps, one day, this child could awaken the legendary Mangekyo Sharingan, becoming another pillar of the Uchiha clan.
However...
This exceptional Uchiha's ideology was incompatible with his own.
No!
Uchiha Ikeizumi's philosophy of absolute justice was incompatible with the entire Uchiha clan.
Neither the hawkish faction, advocating confrontation with the village and even urging him, the clan head, to plot a coup, nor the dovish faction, which favored negotiation and peaceful resolution with the village's higher-ups, shared common ground with Ikeizumi.
This was because Uchiha Ikeizumi's stance on justice was not aligned with the Uchiha clan but with his own internal sense of "righteousness" and "justice."
He had formed his own faction within the Uchiha clan, standing alone.
Hence his isolation and incongruity.
Uchiha Ikeizumi raised his eyelids, meeting the gaze of the infamous "Wicked Eye Fugaku," and stated, "You want me to exercise discretion in my enforcement of justice, to selectively compromise to ease relations with the village, correct?"
Fugaku replied, "No need to put it so bluntly."
But he tacitly agreed.
"My methods will not change. Instead of trying to curb me, you should control your beastly son. Itachi needs to see a psychologist; I think it's very necessary." Ikeizumi, finding the conversation unproductive, rose to leave.
Fugaku's expression stiffened.
To slander a father's child so directly in front of him.
Even Fugaku could not help but feel a surge of anger.
But...
This seemed to have happened many times before. Ikeizumi, for some unknown reason, simply held a strong dislike for Itachi.
He had even attacked Itachi once. If Shisui had not intervened, Itachi might have been seriously harmed.
Fugaku's face was grim as he watched Ikeizumi depart.
Izumi, meanwhile, looked confused, glancing left and right.
She could sense the tension in the office, the suppressed anger of Clan Head Fugaku, and even saw his tightly clenched fists.
She did not understand why Ikeizumi had such strong opinions about the clan head's son.
Wait!
The clan head's son... that meant Itachi and Sasuke, didn't it?
Izumi was flustered again.
She seemed to have chosen a rather extraordinary examiner.
Her future seemed precarious!